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Judge James P. O'Hara

James P. O’Hara was appointed as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in April 2000. Judge O’Hara handles the pretrial aspects of civil and criminal cases and, upon consent of the parties, presides over several civil jury trials each year. From 2004 until 2010, by appointment of the Chief Justice, O’Hara served on the U.S. Judicial Conference’s Committee on Judicial Resources, which formulates personnel-related policy recommendations for the federal court system. Before his appointment to the federal bench, O’Hara was in private practice as a partner in the Kansas City-based law firm of Shughart Thomson & Kilroy (now known as Polsinelli Shughart). He primarily represented clients in commercial cases in federal and state courts in Kansas and Missouri.

Courses Taught:

Trial Advocacy

Education

J.D. Creighton University School of Law, 1980, Editorial Staff, Creighton Law Review; B.A. University of Nebraska, 1977.

Admitted

Kansas, 1983, U.S. Supreme Court

Career History

Clerk, U.S. District Judge Robert V. Denney and C. Arlen Beam, 1980-1982; Associate and Partner, Shughart Thomson & Kilroy, 1982-2000; U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court of Kansas, 2000-present.